Rail, Maritime and Transport union leader Bob Crow, who has died at the age of 52, told friends he thought he had flu just hours before he suffered an aneursym and massive heart attack.

An RMT colleague yesterday said the union boss 'wasn't feeling well yesterday afternoon' but had put it down a case of flu.

But just hours later he was rushed to Whipps Cross hospital in Leytonstone, east London, by ambulance where doctors pronounced him dead yesterday morning despite fighting to keep him alive for more than an hour.

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Left-wing firebrand: The funeral of Bob Crow will be held today. The 52-year-old died on March 11 after suffering a massive heart attack

Home: Mr Crow was rushed to hospital from his council house in Woodford Green, Essex, but could not be saved

Mr Crow had his photo taken with engineer Wayne Riley, 29, at a pub in Leicester Square on Friday

Last public engagement: On Saturday Mr Crow was in Brighton to speak at a Brighton Miners' Strike 30th anniversary event at the city's Friends' Meeting House

The RMT boss, who proudly still lived in a council house in Woodford Green, Essex, leaves a partner, Nicola Hoarau, 50, and four children. He is said to have been unwell in recent weeks and to have visited the hospital where he died yesterday for treatment.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union announced his death yesterday morning 'with the deepest regret'.

A brief statement said: 'It is with the deepest regret that RMT has to confirm that our general secretary Bob Crow sadly passed away in the early hours of this morning.'

Mr
Crow, whose father was also a trade union leader, said: 'It was about
7am that I got the call from my sister - I presume some time in the
night he had some problems. We're really trying to find out exactly what
happened.

'We grew up together in Chigwell in Essex and he was a very likeable chap - no matter what people said about his politics.

'He
was honest, he looked after the people he was supposed to look after,
and he was a great man as far as honesty and beliefs went.'

Powerful: In what is one of the last photographs of Mr Crow, he is seen addressing the audience at a union event in Brighton three days before his death. Trade unionists from all over the country will be at his funeral

Grief: An emotional RMT assistant general secretary, Steve Hedley, comforts a woman outside the union HQ after his death was announced

Mr Crow, who is three years older than his brother, said: 'People moaned that he lived in a council house, that he never drove a car - he lived a life of the average guy in the street and that’s a rare thing these days.

'When people have a high office in life they fall for the big trappings of the flash cars and the big hotels and big houses. But Bob wasn’t like that, he was a genuine person of the people.

'He was one of those loveable little rogues, one of those guys that had bundles of friends.'

As news of his death broke, engineer
Wayne Riley, 29, from Kilburn, north west London, told how he bumped
into Mr Crow in the Moon Under Water pub in London's Leicester Square on
Friday night.

Mr Riley,
who asked Mr Crow to pose for a picture with him, said they joked with
him about tube strikes and added: 'He was a really good laugh.'

Mr
Crow's neighbour, Eric Abrahams, 51, who said he had noticed Mr Crow
limping last week, said: 'I do feel as if a member of my family has died
- he was a great speaker and a great neighbour.

Tribute: Mr Crow's brother, Richard, pictured with his wife Karen, said his brother was a 'loveable little rogue'

Brother's sadness: Richard Crow tweeted about how his brother 'stood up for his people in a way this country lacks'

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He
said Mr Crow was 'broadly right on most key issues', and that if more
people had fought for the conditions of the working classes 'this
country would be a much better place.'

'With the passage of time people will come to see that people like Bob Crow did a very good job', he added.

A spokesman for David Cameron said: 'The Prime Minister expresses his sincere condolences to Mr Crow's family and friends.'

Mark Twain quote: Tube workers put this tribute up at Covent Garden underground station this afternoon

Ed Miliband MP, leader of the Labour
Party, said: ‘Bob Crow was a major figure in the labour movement and
was loved and deeply respected by his members.

‘I
didn’t always agree with him politically but I always respected his
tireless commitment to fighting for the men and women in his union. He
did what he was elected to do, was not afraid of controversy and was
always out supporting his members across the country.

‘He was a passionate defender of and campaigner for safe, affordable public transport and was a lifelong anti-fascist activist.

‘My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues in the RMT and wider union movement at this difficult time.’

Tributes: Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone said 'I assumed Bob would be at my funeral, not his', while current Mayor, Boris Johnson, said: 'I'm shocked. Bob Crow was a fighter and a man of character'

Hospital: Doctors at Whipps Cross Hospital in east London fought for an hour to save Mr Crow's life today

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: 'I'm shocked. Bob Crow was a fighter and a man of character.'Whatever
our political differences, and there were many, this is tragic news.
Bob fought tirelessly for his beliefs and for his members.

'There
can be absolutely no doubt that he played a big part in the success of
the Tube, and he shared my goal to make transport in London an even
greater success.

'It's a sad day.'

The RMT's assistant general secretary Steve Hedley said: 'The RMT has lost a great leader and a great man and the whole working class has lost a true leader.

'We will remember Bob Crow by building the movement he would like to see right across the trade union.'

Mr Hedley, looking tense and drawn, said he was having meetings this afternoon to discuss the union's future and said a further statement will be issued by the RMT tomorrow.

A sign on the RMT headquarters in London said: 'The office will be closed until further notice. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.'

Assistant General Secretary of the RMT, Steve Hedley, blinked back tears as he gave a statement about Mr Crow's death today, saying: 'the whole working class' had lost a leader

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCSU, said: 'He understood that the job of the union leader is to stand up for the members you represent.

'Bob, like all of us, believed that strike action was the last resort - but when everything else had failed, and you couldn't get the employer to take you seriously, then taking strike action was the right thing to do.'

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: 'This is shocking news. Bob was an outstanding trade unionist, who tirelessly fought for his members, his industry and the wider trade union movement.

'He was always a good friend and comrade to me. We will miss him, and our thoughts are with his family and the RMT at this difficult time.'

Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA Union, tweeted: 'Devastated to hear of Bob Crow's untimely death. My thoughts are with his family, friends and the members of our sister union. RIP comrade!'

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: ‘I am very saddened to hear that Bob Crow has passed away, and my thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.

‘Like many, I will remember him as a passionate voice for safety on the railways and the wellbeing of those who work on them.

‘While we may not always have agreed on how to run our railways, he was a powerful advocate who led his organisation from the front and made an important contribution to the debate around the future of rail services in this country.’

Transport for London staff also expressed their sadness at Crow's death.

At Queensway Station tube workers wrote a tribute on the station notice board: 'Bob Crowe leader of the RMT Union died today aged 52. He will be sorely missed by the staff of London Underground'.

Mr Crow, who just last night defended his £145,000-a-year pay package in a robust interview on BBC Radio 4, often faced criticism for living in a housing association home in Woodford Green, east London.

Passionate: Mr Crow, pictured at the TUC conference in Bournemouth last September, fought for his union

In November he said: 'I was born in a council house, I'll die in a council house.'

Criticised for this choice, Mr Crow recently said he had 'no moral duty' to move out of his home: 'I was born in a council house; as far as I'm concerned, I will die in one.'

Mr Crow was the last of the archetypal left-wing firebrand union leaders, happy to take the fight to the government of the day to stand up for his workers.

'I WAS BORN IN A COUNCIL HOUSE, I WILL DIE IN ONE' - BOB CROW'S MOST FAMOUS QUOTES

'What do you want me to do? Sit under a tree and read Karl Marx every day?'

Defending a holiday in Rio on the eve of strikes

‘I am worth it, yeah.’

Defending his £145,000 pay package

‘He squandered a massive landslide from an electorate hungry for change, poured billions of public pounds into private pockets and accelerated the growing gap between rich and poor.’

On Tony Blair

‘I won’t shed one single tear over her death. She destroyed the NHS and destroyed industry in this country and as far as I'm concerned she can rot in hell.’

On Margaret Thatcher

'I was born in a council house; as far as I'm concerned, I will die in one.'

On not giving up his council house

When former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, he said: ‘I won’t shed one single tear over her death.

'She destroyed the NHS and destroyed industry in this country and as far as I'm concerned she can rot in hell.’

A
hate figure for millions of commuters whose journeys were disrupted by
strikes ordered by the RMT, he was popular among his members for getting
them better pay deals.

A leading figure of the Awkward Squad of left-wing union leaders, he was seen as hugely successful.

But
his six-figure pay deal, taste for exotic holidays and insistence on
still living in a council house meant he attracted criticism.

Yesterday, he defended his £145,000 salary, declaring he was ‘serving civilisation’ in his role and was ‘worth it’.

In his last interview he told BBC Radio Four: ‘I am worth it, yeah. Our members, in the main, have had pay rises every single year right the way through austerity.’

In the wide-ranging interview he also defended big pay rises for MPs and his decision not to buy his own home.

On MPs’ pay, he said: ‘Anyone in the public sector, we are all civil servants, we are serving civilisation.

'That is what a civil servant does, and they should be paid accordingly. I do believe they [MPs] should have a pay rise.’

Mr Crow was planning to stand for election to the European Parliament in May, for his own No2EU party bankrolled by the RMT.

He hoped to portray himself as the left-wing version of Ukip leader Nigel Farage, demanding a referendum to get Britain out of the EU.

Man of the people: Mr Crow, pictured outside City Hall earlier this year, was proud of his working class roots

Launching his election bid last year,
Mr Crow said: ‘Working people across Europe are sick and tired of the
EU business model of fiscal fascism and polls in Britain show that
voters want a referendum on EU membership. So why not give them a
referendum?

'The only rational course is to leave the EU and rebuild Britain with socialist policies.'

A life-long Millwall fan - the club will include a tribute to Mr Crow in its programme for this Saturday's game against Charlton - he listed football, boxing and darts among his interests in Who's Who.

Challenged over his decision to remain a council tenant, he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: ‘I’m the only person in my road paying the rent - everyone else is on social.

'Every single person down my road - because there are only nine houses - is on benefits. Who really is the mug?’

Last month, on the eve of walkouts over ticket offices, he was pictured sunbathing on Rio's Copacabana beach.

He hit back at his critics in trademark style, declaring: 'What do you want me to do? Sit under a tree and read Karl Marx every day?'

Never a member of the Labour party, Mr Crow did join the Communist Party in the early 1980s.

He briefly joined Arthur Scargill’s Socialist Labour Party, but in recent years had not been a member of a political party.

Council house: Despite earning £145,000 a year, Crow insisted: I was born in a council house, I'll die in one'

The outspoken communist who went from working class roots to £145,000 a year - but proudly refused to leave his council house

Bob Crow rose from a modest
background to running an organisation with 80,000 members on a
six-figure salary - but he insisted he always remained faithful to his
working-class origins.

He was born in Shadwell, east London, in 1961, but the family soon moved to a council house in Hainault.

His
father George worked at the Ford factory in Dagenham, where he was
active in union politics, while Bob's mother Lillian worked as a cleaner
to help the family make ends meet.

Younger days: Mr Crow, pictured in 1992, left, and 2001, right, began
his trade union career in 1983 with the National Union of Railwaymen
(NUR) - in 1990 it merged with other unions to become the RMT

However,
tragedy struck when Lillian died of bowel cancer aged 48, at a time
when Bob was just eight years old and his brother Richard - later an
ardent Thatcherite - was 11.

As
a teenager, Bob attended Kingswood Upper School, a secondary modern
near his home, but he left at the age of 16 and started working on the
London Underground.

He
joined the National Union of Railwaymen for social reasons while working
on the rail tracks and as a lumberjack clearing trees from Tube lines.

During
the Thatcher years Mr Crow became increasingly active within the union -
he joined his first Tube strike the day after he returned home from his
honeymoon in 1982, and the next year was elected as a local union
representative.

He
developed an increasing reputation as a firebrand who advocated
confronting the Prime Minister and her Conservative government, and rose
to become assistant general secretary by the time the NUR became part
of the RMT union.

Mr
Crow was elected to run the RMT in 2002, catapulting him to national
fame - and notoriety - as the most radical of a new generation of union
leaders.

Despite the
traditional links between the unions and Labour party, Mr Crow fought
against the public service reforms of Tony Blair's Government, once
saying that New Labour's only legacy was the rise of the BNP.

Picket line: Mr Crow, third from right, with RMT members during a strike in 1995

He was for many years a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, before joining Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party.

Some
of his views were at odds with the centre-Left - he supported the death
penalty and lobbied for Britain to leave the EU, which he regarded as a
capitalist conspiracy.

Mr
Crow was a fierce adversary of Tories such as Boris Johnson, but he
also clashed with the previous Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who
accused him of running a 'protection racket' for Tube workers.

He
became a hate figure for the Right, who accused him of hypocrisy for
staying in his council house in Woodford despite his £145,000 salary.

However,
the outspoken union boss always refused to apologise, saying that he
deserved his pay packet, and insisted he had a right to live in the home
which he shared with his partner Nicola Hoarau, an RMT employee.

Relentless: The union leader protesting against ticket office closures in October last year

His most recent stint in
the headlines came when he called a 48-hour Tube strike last month,
bringing chaos to the streets of London.

He
always drove a hard bargain for his members, pushing Tube drivers'
basic pay up to £44,000, and was rewarded by an increase in the size of
his union from 50,000 to 80,000.

Outside
politics, Mr Crow was a passionate supporter of Millwall Football Club,
where he would go to watch games with his father.

He
was also fanatically interested in the
weather, once saying: 'I spend ages looking at weather maps and graphs.

'I
have a barometer in the house and if I could have been anything else
other than a union official I would have been a footballer - or a
weatherman.'

‘I don't like to be gobby': Bob Crow’s last interview over lunch in Westminster on his East End childhood, money, pantomime dames and his neighbours on benefits

Outspoken was an adjective almost invented for Bob Crow.

But in his last interview, broadcast hours before his death, he insisted he did not want to be known as ‘gobby, flash or arrogant’, but as just a talkative ‘man with an opinion’.

The 52-year-old was not afraid to share those opinions either. During the interview for BBC Radio 4’s PM recorded over a three-course lunch, he talked about life growing up in the East End, why he refused to give up his council house, and defended his own £145,000 and called for MPs to be paid more.

'I don't like to be gobby': Mr Crow opened up in his last interview, broadcast hours before his death

Westminster’s fashionable Inn the Park restaurant, a stone’s throw from Downing Street and Parliament, might seem like a long way from the ‘up the workers’ image Mr Crow liked to portray.

But speaking to reporter Becky Milligan, he sounded at home ordering hake and treacle pudding.

Asked what he would like to drink, he replied: ‘I will have a drop of red wine.’

Later the interview is punctured by the sound of the clinking of wine glasses, cries of ‘Cheers’ and the sound of cutlery scraping a plate clean.

Settling into the restaurant, Mr Crow remarked: ‘I imagine a few deals in Westminster’s been stitched up in here over the years.’

Talkative: Mr Crow told the BBC interviewer that he would like to be seen as 'a man with an opinion'

But when it was suggested he might have struck his own share of underhand agreements in the past, too, he added: ‘Don’t tell my executive committee… everything is done above board.’

Born in the East End in June 1961, Robert Crow grew up in the shadow of the old Royal Mint building.

‘That’s where my family come from. I remember looking over the terrace and you could see the people in the Bank of England counting the money,’ he said.

‘Four families shared the bathroom, and that’s up to 1967. There was no cooker. There was two rings, that’s all. There was no cooker. It was falling apart the place down there.

‘So hence the London county council gave the opportunity for people to move out.

‘People for the first time thought they was being emigrated to Australia, going 40minutes on a train to those big farm fields in Hainault.'

Mr Crow's last interview was conducted at the fashionable Inn the Park restaurant in St James's Park

Audibly speaking with his mouth full, he declared himself a ‘communist socialist’, who was campaigning for a ‘society that’s based on need rather than greed’.

But he seemed acutely concerned about his own image, balancing his role as a union firebrand with not being a rent-a-quote caricature.

‘I don’t like to be gobby or like to be flash or arrogant. I don’t like that.’

Asked how would he like to be seen, he replied: ‘I suppose talkative, a man with an opinion. And perhaps sometimes where some people might keep their mouth shut I have expressed a point of view where sometimes you should listen a bit more.’

And he said he he had no regrets about going too far, saying: ‘No, I love it.’

Out of the ordinary: Often characterised as a larger than life character, Mr Crow said he didn't want to 'wear a grey suit and eat a cheese sandwich every lunchtime'

Often characterised as a larger-than-life character, a pantomime villain, he tried to play down his public image.

Mr Crow said: ‘Of course at the end of the day to be a General Secretary of a union you have got to be larger than life. [You just] don’t want to walk around with a grey suit eating a cheese sandwich every lunchtime.

‘Or you do you want someone who has got a bit of spark about them?’

London Mayor Boris Johnson and Mr Crow frequently clashed, on one instance when Mr Crow called into the Mayor’s radio phone-in to berate him for refusing to meet face to face.

Mr Crow insisted he behaved as a ‘grown up’ while Mr Johnson indulged in Punch and Judy politics, saying the Tory Mayor was a ‘good laugh’ and very quick' on shows such as Have I Got News For You, but was to blame for the absence of talks between them.

His huge pay package - said to be worth £145,000 - from the RMT often attracted criticism, but against the sound of knives scraping plates when questioned over the salary, he was adamant: ‘I am worth it, yeah.

Tribute: Flowers were laid at the RMT hq todayhailing Mr Crow 'a great leader' who spoke to the working class